


More Than This

by owlways_and_forever



Series: The Mischief They Create [9]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: First War with Voldemort, Fudge backstory
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-09
Updated: 2020-09-09
Packaged: 2021-03-06 16:28:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,834
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26381917
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/owlways_and_forever/pseuds/owlways_and_forever
Summary: Cornelius hadn’t been in the square of the small town for more than a few seconds when a jet of red light streaked toward him, only narrowly missing his ear, the whoosh of it ruffling the neatly trimmed ends of his hair.
Relationships: James Potter/Lily Evans Potter
Series: The Mischief They Create [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1888561
Comments: 2
Kudos: 8





	More Than This

He signed his name on the line at the bottom of the paper.

_Cornelius Oswald Fudge_

He felt weirdly like he was signing his life away, even though it was only a job. But something told him that this job was going to change his life, and maybe not for the better. He didn’t have many options though - he’d had mediocre NEWT scores and he wasn’t connected to any powerful wizarding families, so no one was exactly clamoring to hire him. The Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes was more than respectable though, even if it wasn’t exactly what he had dreamt of doing. 

All around him, people were talking about a war. Cornelius was less sure about it all - there did seem to be a lot of tension between Pureblood families and, well, everyone else, but that wasn’t exactly new. He supposed the disappearances were a bit odd, and it was true that there had been a few more murders than was typical. But as for an actual _war_? Cornelius had his doubts. 

It was during his second month on the job that things took an abrupt turn. Until then, it had all been small things - pranks and mishaps and the like. Pets escaping and wreaking havoc on the neighborhood, artifacts being charmed to bite off a finger or erase memories. It was all somewhat tame. Cornelius was starting to wonder if they ever actually dealt with anything more on the catastrophic side of things, or if all that was left to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. 

A note fluttered into existence, the parchment hovering in the air in the middle of the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes office. Cornelius looked around, searching for one of the junior ministers to take the message, but seeing none, he snatched the note for himself.

_Dragon attack. Barnton. Come quickly._

Cornelius wasn’t entirely sure why the message had been sent to their office, but he supposed a dragon attack constituted a catastrophe. He quickly copied the note twice, signed his name to the bottom and forwarded it as a memo to the Departments of Magical Law Enforcement and Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. Much as he was loathe to share the limelight with them, he could not deny to himself that they had a right to be informed of such an event. Once that had been done, Cornelius sped around the office, looking for anyone else from his department who could join him. But it was late at night, so there was no one else there. Letting out a swear, he grabbed his travelling cloak and swept from the office, wrapping it around his shoulders as he walked.

Once Cornelius reached the main lobby of the Ministry, he twisted on his heel, thinking intently of the main square in Barnton to apparate there. Once arrived, he doubted it would take him long to discover the precise location of the attack. He was right in thinking that locating the attack would be easy. He was very, _very_ wrong in thinking that it would merely be a rogue dragon.

Cornelius hadn’t been in the square of the small town for more than a few seconds when a jet of red light streaked toward him, only narrowly missing his ear, the _whoosh_ of it ruffling the neatly trimmed ends of his hair. A heartbeat later a loud growl erupted from behind him, and he could feel the heat of an accompanying breath of flames. Duelers _and_ dragons, excellent.

“Take cover!” a voice yelled, and Cornelius thought it seemed vaguely familiar. But he had little time to dwell on that, instead focusing on ducking behind the statue in the middle of the square.

From his secure place, Cornelius took a moment to look around, trying to sort out what was happening around him. Down three streets to the north, he could see dragons lumbering behind a tall, thin figure in pitch black robes. Something inside him told him that this figure, this man who nearly blended into the night, was the dark wizard that everyone feared. This was Lord Voldemort. Until that moment, Cornelius hadn’t believed in him, or hadn’t believe the extent of him, he wasn’t sure. But in that moment, as terror flooded his system, Cornelius understood. But he could not - he would never - turn his back on this situation. Whatever flaws he might have, Cornelius Fudge was _not_ a coward. He tightened his grip on his wand and continued to assess the situation.

To the southwest was a bunch of Order of the Phoenix members - those renegade witches and wizards who were part of some kind of vigilante organization to stop Voldemort and his followers. He recognized the auburn hair of Lily Evans, easy enough to spot. And if Lily was there, that meant James Potter was right beside her. Those two meant there was a high likelihood that Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, Marlene McKinnon or Dorcas Meadowes was concealed in that alleyway as well, but Cornelius could see no sign of them.

What Cornelius could see was exactly what was going to happen next. The Order gang was trapped. They had no shelter - at least none that could withstand a fully grown dragon - and no retreat. They could, if pressed, apparate away from the scene to save their own skin, but it would leave the town prone to Voldemort, his followers, and three dragons. Cornelius knew enough about these guys to know that they would never do that. They would die there, either by curse or by dragon fire, or by some other hellish means. Unless he did something. 

From the way they were approaching the square, it didn’t seem that Voldemort or his followers either knew or cared about Cornelius’ presence, and that left him with an opportunity. He could save them. He could save the whole town, if he played his cards right. He tapped his wand to the top of his head, wordlessly casting a disillusionment charm over himself, and he crept forward slowly. 

He would only have one shot at this. Smoke was billowing into the night sky from the tongues of dragon flames that licked over ancient buildings. He needed to subdue the dragons first, in order to give them all a fighting chance against Voldemort’s gang. With three rapid flicks of his wand, Cornelius cast binding spells on the dragons. Heavy iron shackles burst in the existence, chaining together claws and pinning down tails. Even sturdier iron muzzles clamped down over their snouts, dampening the danger of fire. With a hiss of frustration, the Death Eaters tried to free their mounts to no avail. Cornelius has learned this particular spell from an American trader, and only the caster could remove it. One of the dragons toppled sideways into a building, the stone wall crumbling beneath its weight. Cornelius could hear screams from inside.

The sound of residents screaming seemed to spur Lily and James into action, pushing them forward to try to save anyone they could. But they were running straight into a minefield. The Death Eaters unleashed a barrage of brightly colored spells, all speeding toward the two young adults.

Cornelius swore under his breath as he looked between Lily and James, ducking curse after curse as they surged forward across the square, and the fallen building that housed the collapsed dragon, now beginning to catch fire as it concealed countless terrified individuals. In a split second, he made his decision. Lily and James were experienced duelers - at least, they were as experienced as any recent graduate - and they could take care of themselves for the moment. He sped towards the inferno, ready to cast _aguamenti_ the moment he was behind enemy lines. He could see the gaping hole where the dragon had fallen, a mess of stone and mortar obscuring what once had been an organized interior. He scrambled to put an end to the blaze while he searched the rubble with his gaze, desperate to find survivors now that the screams had abated. 

Once he had the flames under control after what felt like an eternity, Cornelius began shifting rubble aside, grasping at every body that he found and pulling them to relative safety. He moved from one spot to another, finding as many people as he could. It was a tavern, he realized, and there were dozens of bodies strewn under the wreckage. Cornelius continued working systematically, moving to the next building, burned beyond recognition, when he had finished, and then the next and the next. He drowned out the fight behind him, until a gut feeling told him to turn around. Lily was on the ground, scooting backwards as fast as she could while Voldemort approached steadily. James had evidently been thrown against one of the remaining buildings, unconscious in a heap at the base. Cornelius could tell from Voldemort’s predatory gait that he had every intent of playing with his food before he ate it, so to speak. Cornelius sent a severing charm in their direction, aiming for Voldemort’s wand and hoping it would be enough. He missed his target, but his spell sliced through the Dark Lord’s arm instead. He snarled, vicious and animal-like, and the sound sent fear dripping down Cornelius’ spine. With an evaluative look at his injury and his Death Eaters defeated on the ground, the Dark Lord disapparated. It wasn’t a life threatening injury, but it was enough to drive him away temporarily, like a wounded creature seeking its den in order to recuperate. 

Cornelius turned his attention back to his task, digging through piles of splintered and burnt wood. It registered, somewhere in the back of his mind, that a series of small _pops_ indicated the arrival of other wizards, but he didn’t know whether it was other Order members or the ministry wizards he had sent for. It didn’t matter much to him, as long as they could help him save these people.

There was no article in the newspaper the next day, but somehow everyone knew about the attack anyway. Everywhere Cornelius walked, he was treated to awed expressions and declarations of gratitude. Is was far more than he felt he deserved. He heard the phrase _the hero of Barnton_ , uttered more than once, and it made him sick. There were so many people he hadn’t saved, so many who had perished in that attack. He hadn’t done nearly enough to be deemed a hero. But it didn’t matter how he saw himself, all that mattered was how the rest of the wizarding world perceived him. 

Two years later, Cornelius would be sitting at his desk when he heard the news: Lily and James Potter were dead, and the Dark Lord was gone forever. He ought to be thrilled, like the rest of the world, but on that particular morning, only one thought would run through his mind on a continuous loop. _I saved them, dammit. I saved them for more than this._


End file.
